AMAZON RIVER AMAZON RIVER! How many of you can say you sailed the Amazon River???

We are in the Amazon.... We are sailing the Amazon River. Right now I am looking out and staring at this muddy, brownish... ever-stretching flow of what looks like chocolate milk. It is surreal. At one point we were going at 26 knots-- no wonder everyone was flying and bumping into things. It seems we blazed a trail into Brazil. We've been in the Amazon for a night so far. We entered by 10 pm last night. We were soooo excited once the captain announced it. After dinner and talking with Daniel for a bit, Obai and I went up to the pool bar for a bit. Geoffrey was hilarious with his “swiping problem.” I tell you, it is real! A lot of people have been having the same problem including myself. We all never knew how addicted we were to junk food until we saw it and realized it was not included in our dining meals. He admitted to swiping and spending up to $35 just yesterday alone. I don't have it that bad, but I indulged in a vanilla ice-cream cone and thennnnn 6 (which I shared) delish chocolate chip cookies that had just came out of the oven/easy bake. I haven't purchased any more twizzlers so that's a pat on the back for me. It's something about all junk food though. Psychologically, it's a comfort sort of situation and reminds of home in the states. I can't imagine how much SAS rakes in from the pool and piano bars alone...Strategic. We ran into Aisha who was suckered into getting ice-cream too hahaha... it was kinda muggy outside on the deck. It's funny how the temperature from the air conditions throughout the ship doesn't prepare you for whatever the case may be when you go out on a deck. It was one of those humid, no-air type of a night. But folks were scattered around the pool at tables playing cards and other stuff. Anyhow, we went downstairs and end up at Malachi and Kyle's room. There were 3 other females and we introduced ourselves and got to talking and playing music. After a while they trickled out so they could sleep through the Amazon entrance. For some reason, a lot of folks were afraid and wanted to already be sleep. I mean, considering the circumstances, I guess if I wasn't a weird person I would be too.

Every voyage is unique. While there are routine countries to some degree, the ports are always different (for both experience and safety reasons). With that being said, the ship has never sailed the Amazon River before. I am assuming that the captain has done so with other cruise ships he's done in the past... but who knows. Why doesn't that make me nervous? I would hope that the captain and his folks would have assessed this before taking us through it. He did announce that once we entered we would have to slow down immensely because it is very shallow (for a ship of this size) and that we would have to be careful because it would be a tedious thing. What he didn't mention out loud (but what we discussed in the room) was if it wasn't done strategically, the ship could tip over. We also watched the moving diagram on the ship's channel. At one point it noted that the ship had dropped down to 9 knots. That was excruciating to watch because we were so excited and just wanted to be in it already! They also advised us to stay in our cabins because going out to any of the decks especially while entering...and it was dark... and there are bugs and other creatures... wouldn't be a great equation at this particular moment in time. Made sense for me so I stayed put. Haha. We kept running to the window though because we wanted a glimpse at the water. It was too dark to make out any alligators/sea life but the water looked really velvety and we could see the brownness. We got to talking about the animals. The Amazon is home to hundreds of thousands of species. Some we have yet to discover. What was happening with those beneath the ship, we had to be offsetting their normal balance of things... would they retaliate? Obai kept making these jokes about monster-sized mosquitoes lifting SAS'ers and dragging them overboard ahahaha. Just gotta say, I'm glad I got that 100% Deet. I'll create a halo for me and a few selected friends. Seriously that stuff is so strong they didn't sell it in stores. I went to Home Depot, Walmart and a few other spots and looked in their Home/Lawning sections where other insecticides were listed. I asked the specialists and they all gave me a strange look when I asked for more Deet percentage... So I went to Amazon.com (very fitting hahahaha). The label said that if the substance isn't used as intended, I could be subject to fines and some other stuff. It has to be applied carefully so as to avoid numbing and some other stuff. Sounds lethal right? Welps, I wanted to be extra bug free. I am doing an FDP with my professor and some other students. We are going to be staying 4 days and 3 nights in the Amazon Rio Tupana village. Apparently the (very brief I might add) description said we would be staying in a community longhouse in the middle of the jungle and learn how a particular village lives by participating in their daily routines/community service. Because of our proximity, this stay would encompass the ecological and natural aspect of the Amazon...You know what that means... our skin will be like sweet treats to the creatures we encounter. And a longhouse? I don't know what that is... the tidbit about being in the middle of the Amazon was enough to convince me to pay the extra money and risk numbing my fingers just to stay alive and make it to the rest of the ports post Brazil. Hahaha...

So many questions and not enough time to get answers since classes are still in effect until we port in Manaus. I heard that tonight we will do a stop in Coppa? But that's ship life. So many rumors floating around. Haha. So yeah we talked about the Amazon, we ended up talking about the pirates... Yes, you heard correctly. Pirates. The first time I heard I laughed because I immediately had an image of Captain Hook from Peter Pan. Well, these pirates look very much like us except they are equipped with AK-47's, Bazookas and other assorted weaponry. In 2005, the SAS'ers were escorted into the National Coast Guard of the Waters boats (from what I heard) because of range of the pirates. Naturally safety first, and unfortunately when this stuff happens, the itinerary is shifted and you go to every country minus those within that fortitude. The Atlantic Ocean is huge as we can all imagine, so one of the reasons we are stopping in Mauritius after Brazil isn't just because Mauritius is a great spot, but to refuel so we can haul *** and sail the maximum speed limit to Ghana. Hahaha. Yep, that appears to be the recognized truth around here. In some weird way, I want us to be safe, but how cool is it to encounter a pirate? Google it. Pirates/Somalian Pirates... I am sure it is a bunch of mixed race ones... I just have been hearing mostly about those. I don't want us to experience it just for the sake of an amazing blog entry & pictures (hahah) or at the expense of our safety or miss out on any of the countries on our list. The pirates are not your average kidnappers, so they have been strategic in the past and have taken over cruise ships. Once we leave Mauritius I was told there is a military airplane that shadows us as we enter the Atlantic. I wondered how the captain goes about deciding routes in anticipation of pirate-infested waters. As I mentioned, they take different routes and stop in different ports. But either way, entering through the east of Africa is a risky brigade. So much I have learned in such a short period of time. To think that I have only been here a week + a day (today) is staggering. Definitely feels like I've lived here for months. Let alone the fact that the Amazon & Brazil will only be our second official port. That makes me excited to think that there are so many more countries and things to come. I am looking out the window and there are random twigs and branches floating. I keep running to take a picture because from a distance it looks like it could be something else. (me wishing it was haha). Anyhow, it's 11:25 am. Lunch was changed to 11:45 and I am happy about that... right now, getting ready to get my day started... or maybe not. I have that luxury today =) I don't have my first class until 4:15 – 5:30 pm :) Be safe out there folks!